Keeping in Hope
by Lolaleddir
Summary: The final battle has been won. Harry married Ginny. Ron married Hermione. But did they make the right choice. If not, can they change it? A oneshot set after the final page of the seventh book and an explanation to the things unsaid.


Declaimer: This author would like to declare that the Harry Potter series belong to J.K.Rowling, who had recently regained a little of the respect that she had lost since reading the sixth Harry Potter book. This author would also like to give compliments to J.K.Rowling, a great job well done on the final book of the Potter series, and good luck with whatever your heart may take you next.

Because of recent events and the final end of the Harry Potter series, here is a story about bravery, finality and everlasting love. Please enjoy.

" All hands on deck,

Don't abandon the ship,

You never know what it could have been,

All hands on deck,

My ship is sinking,

Don't let me go,

Don't let me drown."

- Waking Ashland, " Hands on Deck"

**Keeping in Hope**

**By Lola Leddir**

The final strength of the mist from the night before had still not lifted itself from the silent neighborhood of Godric's Hallows. The sky was lighter, but still the sun was unseen.

_Voldemort is gone. Forever._ These thoughts ran again and again through Harry Potter's head. _It had just all happened so fast. And what an ending for all of us it was._ He thought as he looked back lovingly at a lone figure sleeping peacefully in the bed just a few inches away from where he was standing himself. An overwhelming rush of happiness pushed through the mob of loss and pain still trapped deep within him.

Ginny. She had survived it all. Now, her, their children and he would never have to look over their shoulders ever again. It's just going to be him and her, living out the rest of their lives. As he thought of this however, a nagging voice was sounded in his head. So familiar was its speech now that Harry groaned in annoyance as he tiptoed out of the bedroom.

_Just think of what we could do next! _Harry thought, trying to drown out the voice in his head_. Now, without Voldemort, everything would be all right._ The shadow that Voldemort had cast in his life was forever chased away. There was nothing to worry about now.

As Harry pondered on this, he quietly stepped out of his house and unconsciously walked toward the graveyards of Godric's Hallows. Stopping at two particular gravestones, Harry knelt down and reread the inscribed words for what must have been the millionth time.

_The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death._

" Hey Mum," Harry whispered as he reached out and touched the gravestone gently. " Dad? How are you? I still can't believe it," Harry said quietly as he stared at the two headstones. " Even after 19 years now, I still can't believe that he is really gone."

Harry pulled his arms over his knees as he thought back to it all. Dobby's little body, lying in the depth of the deep hole. Hedwig, falling through the air, down into the darkness. Fred's falling form, as time seems to stand still and then, there was Hermione. Hermione's screams as he, Harry himself was locked helplessly in a cell, with no means to rush to her aid and erase all her pain.

" Was it really worth it?" Harry asked himself as he thought of everything that had happened, everyone that had died.

" Harry? Is that you?" a voice asked softly as a figure descended to where Harry was sitting.

" Hermione." Harry said, more than a statement than a question as he stared straight ahead, not bothering to take his eyes off his parents' gravestone. She was finally here.

Without saying a word, Hermione sat done next to Harry and encircled him in a gentle embrace.

" Miss them?" she asked softly.

" Yes," Harry replied.

" You know they are with you," she said, not letting go.

" I know," Harry replied, a single tear now rolling down his face, " But is doesn't take way the loss and pain I feel."

" You are not alone," Hermione said as she reached over and wiped away that single tear.

Finally turning to Hermione, Harry took a long look at her.

It seem as if she had just gotten out of bed. Her hair was slightly ruffled and she was wearing a pale blue nightgown under her robes. At the sight of her, Harry's stomach flipped.

" How did you know that I was here?" Harry asked, realizing that she was crying too.

" Just a feeling," Hermione said, smiling tearfully. " I felt like that you needed me."

" I did," Harry whispered. Changing the subject slight, he asked. " Where's Ron?"

" Home," Hermione said simply.

" How have you been?" Harry asked.

" Fine," Hermione lied, while in her heart, she knew that everything was far from fine. " You?"

" I missed you," Harry said truthfully.

Hermione blushed, glad that it was too dark to make out her face clearly.

" How is Ginny?" Hermione asked as she looked away, stamping down the spark that Harry ignited inside of her at those three simple words.

" Let's not beat around the bush, Hermione," Harry said, making up a final decision. " Why?"

" Why what Harry?" Hermione asked as she looked up at him.

" Why did you not bring yourself close to me when Ron wasn't there during that Horcrux hunt? Why did you distant yourself?" Harry asked quietly.

" What are you talking about?" Hermione asked, not looking at Harry.

" I'm talking about us!" Harry said as he tried to meet Hermione's eyes. " I'm talking about how you kept avoiding me when we were in that forest. I know you Hermione. You have always been there when I needed you, so how come, that in those times when all I had left was you, you left me to cope with everything by myself?"

" What do you mean? I tried to comfort you! I thought you wanted to be alone." Hermione mumbled, still avoiding Harry's eyes.

" Please Hermione!" Harry said, grasping her hands suddenly as he finally caught Hermione's eyes. " Please, I need to know! We both know what I'm talking about. It's been bothering me to no end Hermione. I wondered for 19 years! I try and denied it for 19 years. But I can't pretend that something that could have been different anymore. I could be completely wrong, but I just need to know! Answer me Hermione!" Harry asked urgently as Hermione struggled to pull her hands out of Harry's.

" Because-" she said, trying hard to hold back those words that she had shut deep in the back of her heart for so long. " Because."

" Because what?" Harry asked, gripping her hands tighter.

" Because I was trying to stop loving you."

Harry's heart pounded faster inside of him.

" Go on," he encouraged.

" Because I was afraid of letting you go. To love you beyond reason, only to see you hurt in the end, or to go back to the place where you truly belonged, with Ginny. You loved her Harry. You've made it so loud and clear. I noticed the way your eyes always lingered on Ginny's name when you looked at the map, or the way your eyes softened when she is mentioned in your presence. The way you toss and turn in bed at night, when you screamed her name. Or-" at this Hermione's voice shook. She closed her eyes painfully, unable to go on. Taking a deep breath however, she continued. " The point is, Harry, I have already fallen into the trap that we built together, but I didn't want you to fall too. You deserve to love one person and one person only. Not worrying about another woman as you are with the one that you really want to be with. I didn't want you to make you choose, when the time came."

Harry was silent, and then a surge of anger welled up inside of him.

" How dare you!" he yelled as he gripped Hermione's hands tighter again. " How dare you! You had no right! I was so confused, Hermione! The first five years of my life with you were so clear to me. I loved you like I never loved anyone else. But when you showed your feelings toward Ron, I hesitated. If you loved me like I loved you, why didn't you show it? Why didn't you tell me? What made you think that we didn't have a chance together? That we were not meant to be?"

" You kissed her!" Hermione said, as she grew angry too. " You kissed Ginny! What was I suppose to think? That you didn't love Ginny the slightest? That you just went around snogging random girls? You two were the golden couple. For you, she was the perfect dream. To have someone that is not connected to all the pain and hurt you experienced facing Voldemort. For her, it was like the Cinderella happily ever' after finally coming true, and you were her prince. For everyone else, you two were the reincarnation of the love your parents have shared. Her as Lily ad you as James. She's a beautiful, witty witch and you were a handsome, powerful wizard. How could I have stood in the way?"

" It wasn't up to you to decided who I was best with! I kissed you before her! That slip up that you had with Ron during Christmas in the fifth year proved that it was etched in your mind too. You said I wasn't a bad kisser, why did you turn away after that?" Harry asked angrily.

" We were best friends, Harry! How would Ron have felt if he knew? If we became anything other than best friends? Second best, yet again to the famous Harry Potter? He had a crush on me since we were 14. Maybe even sooner than that. It was a crucial moment. We couldn't afford to lose Ron. You needed him just as much as you needed me! None of us could have made it out of the war alive if it wasn't for each other. If I left him when he made it so plainly that he fancied me, just to be with you, our friendship would have been over. We've lost so much, we couldn't lose Ron too!"

" But Ron wasn't there! Even when we had those precious few weeks to ourselves, you still pushed me away!" Harry retaliated.

" I was in too deep and so were you! You were with Ginny and I was already with Ron. Why throw away all that we worked for just for those few weeks? We both would have just ended up even more heartbroken than before. It had been hard enough distancing ourselves from eachother in the sixth year, almost unbearable! Why throw all that way just for those few weeks?"

Without any more hesitation, Harry closed in the distance between them and placed his lips fiercely on Hermione's. Holding on like she was the world, the only thing he's got.

Gasping in surprise, Hermione raised her arms around Harry's neck and kissed him back with just as much passion, letting go finally, of the worries that had held her down for so many years.

Slowly, very slowly, Harry broke the kiss.

" Ron always said that you were too smart and sensible for your own good," Harry said, smiling slightly. " I agree."

Hermione didn't smile back however. " Oh Harry! We really shouldn't have done that! What are we going to do? Oh Harry! We can't! What about Ron? Ginny?"

At the mention of Ginny, Harry's eyes darkened.

" I can never dream of hurting her," he said quietly. " She's like a little sister to me."

" Nor can I to Ron," Hermione said sadly, pulling her hands away.

In the back of Harry's mind, he realized that Hermione had been right. They were both in too deep.

" So, so where does this leave us?" Harry asked, fearing Hermione's answer, knowing that even though it was wrong, it would be the right thing to do. But Hermione's answer surprised him.

" I don't know," she replied." But I do know that we can't be together, not now. Maybe life has more in store for us in the future, but it won't be at this second. We still have got a long way to go."

" I can't do this Hermione. Watching you with someone else," Harry said desperately. " Now that I know, now that-"

" I know, Harry," Hermione interrupted, tears rolling down her cheeks once more. " You don't need to say more.

" But what if they understood? What if things could be different?" Harry started, hoping against all hope.

" We'll just have to see what else life have in store for us, won't we?" Hermione said quietly.

" I guess we do," Harry agreed.

" I need to go, Ron will be waking up soon," Hermione said, wiping away the last of her tears.

Harry nodded. " Yeah, I should probably get back to Ginny too."

Standing on her tiptoes, Hermione leaned in and kissed Harry softly.

" Keep in hope, Harry," Hermione said.

" You know I will," Harry replied.

Taking a last look at Harry, Hermione turned away and disappeared.

" You know I will," Harry whispered after her.

Turning in the direction of the gateway, Harry silently walked away.

_Whatever happens, _he thought as the first rays of sunlight prevailed through the night's misty air, _it would all turn out to be okay in the end._ All he had to do, was to keep in hope.

Well, I hope you guys enjoyed this little one-shot. Now that the final book is over, where will it leave you? Please don't forget to leave me a review and tell me what you thought of the book, what you think is in store for fandom in the future, or just anything else. And please remember, keep in love, keep in hope, and keep in Harmony.


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